Quick Ride Around the Lake

Yesterday was another in a series of practically perfect days here in south Wisconsin.

Sunny, calm winds, low humidity, and highs reaching the mid 70s.

Yes, please sign me up for more of these!

My first thought was to get on my bike, and after a breakfast trip to the Prairie Cafe I unloaded my bike, kissed my wife good-bye as she headed off to shop, and I pedaled to the nearby Pheasant Run Conservancy.

Just three weeks ago the sun reached the forest floor with branches casting their shadows across the path.  Now the leaves are out - creating a shady canopy under which to ride. 

It was beautiful.  The boardwalks echoed back the bass notes struck as the wheels rattled each 2 by 6 separately.  The lush green presented a natural tunnel in which to ride and the leaves in turn provided a much different atmosphere when spring was still on its cusp.


Leaving the conservancy trail, I headed south to make the left turn around Lake Mendota's southwest corner and trek through downtown Madison and its isthmus.  The city's bike paths make the trip convenient for weekend riders and bike commuters alike, and despite the 4 wheeled company it was smooth sailing.

Yikes!  As I rode past the Capital Square the street I was riding became dotted by orange barrels, and soon the two lanes became one with no safe space for a bicycle.

I turned up onto the sidewalk when a Bike Detour didn't seem to actually point in any particular direction, and for the next 20 blocks I slowly made my way past driveways, over and through heaving sidewalks, and across construction debris littered intersections.

Finally clearing those hurdles and making a left into the beautiful Maple Bluff neighborhood (home to the Governor's Mansion and many other fine homes) I thought I might be in the clear.

I thought incorrectly.  It's apparently time for new storm sewer drains and water pipes and this time I rode over rough gravel hastily thrown into just completed ditches. 

That was some slow riding, and it landed me in parts of the neighborhood I hadn't ridden before.  Another happy ending here too, as a left turn to follow a "bike route" sign helped me get to the lake's northeast corner without having to ride 5 miles on a busy state highway!  That's good to know, and a much safer alternative to the way I previously rode around the lake.

The north side of the lake is more rural than developed and with an ample bike lane on the side of the county road it was a nice time to finish the circuit of the lake.  27 miles back to the Prairie Cafe and another 8 to get home.

Logged on the trip was noticing a beautiful Crane finding its way across the marsh of the conservancy; seeing a young Hispanic girl and her family celebrating her 15th birthday; and observing the quick arriving transition from spring to summer.  Corn is emerging from the ground, leaves are unfurled, and the animal kingdom is a virtual maternity ward.

Celebrating the not so official of summer is a perfect reason for a quick ride around the lake.